Evacuation of ship passengers and crew members in event of an emergency into inflatable liferafts or lifeboats is well known.
The liferafts are normally stored onboard of the vessel in containers in a deflated state. In this storage situation, the containers do not take up much room or space on the deck. Furthermore, rack systems may be provided on the deck of the vessel for accommodate one or more containers. During the evacuation situation, the container is either thrown overboard into the water, wherein after it is inflated, or it is inflated onboard and subsequently lowered onto the water. Then, the evacuation of persons can take place.
The inflatable liferafts are today suitable for evacuation of up to 150 persons per liferaft. If large passenger or cruise ships, where a high number of passengers are present, are to be equipped with liferafts, a considerable number of liferafts have to be installed. The containers take up a lot of deck space, which clearly is a disadvantage for passenger or cruise ships, where the ship-owners will appreciate space on the decks for the passengers.
In WO 2006/048504, a lifeboat is disclosed, which lifeboat comprises a hull part and a cover part, wherein the cover part can be moved up and down in relation to the hull part. The lifeboat also occupies a considerable space on board of the vessel which many ship-owners will like to avoid. Furthermore, systems for launching the lifeboat from the vessel are necessary due to a considerable weight of the lifeboat. The lifeboat may accommodate about 150 persons.
Furthermore, lifeboats and liferafts which are deployed directly from the deck of the vessel require some kind of lifting arrangement. This could for instance be a known david. Support and a base for lifting arrangement are also necessary. The lifting arrangement and support/base also occupy at lot of the deck space.
Thus, there is a need for providing a flexible solution to the above-mentioned disadvantages.